Monday, June 18, 2012

Advice for Writers: 035

Since my last Advice for Writers post (on May 21), I've been slammed with work (and other projects) and only have 4 posts to show for the past month of blogging. However, I've nearly reached the end of all that crazy and am ready to get back on track. As my first offering, check out some of the recent best advice for writers online:

There Are Two Kinds of "Busy." Is Yours the Right Kind? by Joanne Tombrakos. One of the lines I love the most from this post: One of (technology's) big downsides is that it can create the illusion that we are so much more important than we really are. This is a nice post on trying to find balance in work and life (and realizing it's a moving target).

Ode to the Editor, by Chuck Wendig. As an editor, I'm including this post as a way of reminding writers of the importance of editors. Like writers, we're human--and many of us want the same thing: great writing to share with an audience.

5 comments:

Thanks for posting these links. I have an unrelated question though: Do you have any tips on how to write/describe characters' internal feelings/state of mind without relying cliches? Or at least a link to a post you or someone has written about this topic?

Just asking, as I'm working on a novel where there will be a lot of introspection and inner turmoil going on.

A really effective way to handle that is by showing it through characters' actions. Like someone slamming things around when upset, or not paying attention when someone's speaking when distracted. By not explaining, it adds a certain mystery to each character's thought process as well.

Thanks. I'm doing some of that already, but sometimes worry if I'm giving too much description (I heard that phrase thrown around a lot over at Scribophile:) by going in details about body language, tone of voice etc.

It's OK to be descriptive; just try to avoid letting descriptions slow the pace of the story.

For instance, here's a way to describe someone who's upset (on the fly):

Jack didn't respond to Jill's question. Instead, he picked up a knife as if he was going to slice the vegetables he bought that morning at the market--only he still needed to wash the vegetables to slice them and the anger he felt over Jill's question upset him so much that he felt like he needed to do something, but he didn't want to answer her. So he flung the knife back down and walked out of the room as Jill called after him.

That kind of description can slow the pace. Another way to create the same effect:

Jack didn't respond to Jill's question. Instead, he tossed the vegetables on the counter and cut out of the room as Jill called after him.

*****

These are just on the spot examples, but I think it shows how you can say the same thing but keep the action moving.